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"Only" is a strong word. How about: democracies work best in smaller countries. It may be much harder to have a healthy democracy spanning an entire continent,

"Only" is a strong word. How about: democracies work best in smaller countries. It may be much harder to have a healthy democracy spanning an entire continent, whether that continent is North America or Europe.

JumpCrisscross 10y ago
> How about: democracies work best in smaller countries Sounds like Scenario 3. (Note: Swiss American here.) Either way, why would mass media make large democracies weaker compared to smaller ones. Separately, does this mean democracy is incompatible with an interplanetary species? Democracy being fundamentally unscalable is a Scenario 1 problem for anyone aspiring towards larger civilizations.
- humanrebar 10y ago
  > Either way, why would mass media make large democracies weaker compared to smaller ones. It's hard to be all things to all people. It's easier to be all things to a smaller, more targeted group of people. I prefer to square this circle by making fewer things national issues. I seem to be in the minority in that opinion, but perhaps these sorts of discussions will make people reconsider the issue. Federalism is a way to make the national government stronger by making it focus on its core competencies and leave more cultural issues (among others) to state and local governments.
  - ajmurmann 10y ago
    Under Obama I had no understanding why anyone would want a stronger federalist system. Why should we allow homosexuals to get harassed in one state but protect them elsewhere? It's crazy! Discriminating them is always wrong regardless where! Well then Trump happened and I started daydreaming about the west coast breaking away from the rest of the country. What would the ideal status after exit look like? It turned out what I really wanted is stronger states. It's interesting to suddenly see things from the other side. I'm glad I was fortunate enough to get this experience as painful as it is.
    - humanrebar 10y ago
      A question that's not asked often: Why would California or Texas be more interested in setting each others' <insert-issue-here> policy than fixing their own?
lend000 10y ago
> How about: democracies work best in smaller countries. Is there any reason to think diseconomies of scale is limited to democracies?

JumpCrisscross 10y ago

> How about: democracies work best in smaller countries Sounds like Scenario 3. (Note: Swiss American here.) Either way, why would mass media make large democracies weaker compared to smaller ones. Separately, does this mean democracy is incompatible with an interplanetary species? Democracy being fundamentally unscalable is a Scenario 1 problem for anyone aspiring towards larger civilizations.

humanrebar 10y ago
> Either way, why would mass media make large democracies weaker compared to smaller ones. It's hard to be all things to all people. It's easier to be all things to a smaller, more targeted group of people. I prefer to square this circle by making fewer things national issues. I seem to be in the minority in that opinion, but perhaps these sorts of discussions will make people reconsider the issue. Federalism is a way to make the national government stronger by making it focus on its core competencies and leave more cultural issues (among others) to state and local governments.
- ajmurmann 10y ago
  Under Obama I had no understanding why anyone would want a stronger federalist system. Why should we allow homosexuals to get harassed in one state but protect them elsewhere? It's crazy! Discriminating them is always wrong regardless where! Well then Trump happened and I started daydreaming about the west coast breaking away from the rest of the country. What would the ideal status after exit look like? It turned out what I really wanted is stronger states. It's interesting to suddenly see things from the other side. I'm glad I was fortunate enough to get this experience as painful as it is.
  - humanrebar 10y ago
    A question that's not asked often: Why would California or Texas be more interested in setting each others' <insert-issue-here> policy than fixing their own?

lend000 10y ago

> How about: democracies work best in smaller countries. Is there any reason to think diseconomies of scale is limited to democracies?